and the shots were fired
by Lossie
Summary: Multiple itasaku one-shots. Ratings and genres may change, depending on the story. Requests/prompts accepted!
1. That's what good wives do

**A/N**: The first one-shot I'll be posting here, through there will be more of those one-shots (or two-shots in some cases) and not all of them are going to be this depressingly sad, I promise. I've actually first written this in Polish, but the original was much shorter and even had a different title. The version you can read now is the effect of two days of restless writing, translating and editing, and I hope you'll like it.  
>I'm going to be posting a few other one-shots (some that I've written a while ago as well as new ones), but I would also like to get some promptsrequests from you. You can submit a prompt/request here via reviews/PM or you can do so on my tumblr page – my name there is lossie92.  
>Enjoy!<p>

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><p><em>Summary: "We both knew what a big lie it was, but that's what good wives do – they stay at home and they wait, and they pray, and they are strong no matter what."<br>Genre: Romance/Drama_  
><em>Rating: K+<em>  
><em>Other info: non-massacre AU, character death, very sad<strong><br>**_

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><p><strong>THAT'S WHAT GOOD WIVES DO<strong>

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."  
>-Norman Cousins<p>

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><p>My mother-in-law always said that the Uchiha women should be strong and never succumb to their weaknesses.<p>

"Our destiny is marked with pain, Sakura. For the longest time we've been losing everything that was ever dear to us and we've learnt how to live with this curse. If we ever decided to give up, our clan would undoubtedly lose its strength. Never forget that we are the foundation of this family. We are daughter, we are sisters, we are mothers, we are wives and we are friends, but we are never weak."

Mikoto's words reverberated through my mind every time I wanted to cry or when I was simply too tired to even think about my family, and I just wanted to scream my pain and frustration high into the heavens.

It happened too often to count.

When I've agreed to marry Uchiha Itachi, I did it out of love. He was the best man every woman could hope for and he loved me too, I know it. We were insanely happy together, so after two years of going steady, we decided to take the final step. Of course my parents and my team were against it.

"You won't find happiness," they repeated over and over again, but I was too stubborn and too in love to pay them any mind. What could be so bad, I thought back then, about leaving behind my life as a shinobi? Getting used to spending all my time at home would prove to be tough at the beginning, but I was adaptable. I knew I could live with that if it meant I would get to spend eternity by Itachi's side. I was going to be the best wife, I just knew it.

Maybe I should have listened to them.

After all I've ended up questioning my decision to say a yes and an I-do may times throughout our marriage.

When the clansmen whispered behind my back, still unhappy with their clan heir's choice of bride. When I took every fake smile and unkind word, masked thoughtfully under a thick layer of social pleasantries, because it was apparently rude to call the clan matriarch a whore to her face, but not behind her back. When the only words I seemed to hear, while pregnant with our first child, were "We hope it's a boy", as if it wasn't even remotely important for the child to be born healthy and whole, because a good wife should give her husband a son.

Giving birth to a healthy baby boy put a stop to majority of my problems, but it didn't make my life any easier.

Itachi was still an active shinobi. There was a chance, however slim it might have been, that he would not return home one day. I lived with that possibility as I took care of our firstborn and the house, and then the twins I've given birth to not even a full year after mothering Naoki. There was nothing to do for me, apart from being a perfect mother and a perfect housewife. Itachi once asked me if I wanted to return to being a medic, but I knew just as well as he did that the clan elders would never allow it, so I shook my head and said that I was happy here at home.

We both knew what a big lie it was, but that's what good wives do – they stay at home and they wait, and they pray, and they are strong no matter what.

Every other day I watched my husband get ready for a mission, fearing that this one would turn out to be his last. I observed with growing nervousness how he gathered his weapons and scrolls, how he put on his vest and sandals, how he smiled at me and our children with a promise to return home safely as soon as he could.

And I waved goodbye to him with our three sons by my side, thinking stupidly that I have nothing to fear. He always returned, after all. A little worse for wear, but he did, and I believed it his "always" more and more every day. We welcomed him with happiness while thanking whoever has been listening for bringing him back to us when so many others never had a chance to do so.

In those short moments I could forget about everyday challenges and my loneliness. When I was in his arms, sipping tea or reading a book, I was the happiest I could ever wish to be. He loved and cherished me. In his presence, I always felt like I meant something to at least one person and it gave me strength to live. In me, he saw a woman who has been a kunoichi and who has saved lives, but also a human being, not a tool or a piece of furniture that can be moved whenever you want it out of the way without a care in the world.

Knowing that Itachi loved me, I was able to get used to our goodbyes. Somehow along the way they've stopped being unusual. I was sure that he would return. He always did and he always kept his promises. Always. Even though there were a few close calls, Death has never claimed him. She gave him days, weeks and years to say his good-mornings and goodbyes.

I was suffocating in the walls of our home, but I could breath when they were there with me – my husband and my sons. Our children grew and we watched them with fascination as they took their first steps, spoke their first words and threw their first kunais. It was mesmerizing. And deep down I wanted it to last for eternity.

I'm not sure I appreciated enough the time that has been given to us. Truth be told, I never thought about how lucky we were, strangely certain that our "always" would last forever.

One day he didn't come back.

I waited for him for the entire evening and then for the whole night with my hand on my once again round stomach. I couldn't even think about the possibility that something bad might have happened, because it had never happened before, so why should it now?

I watched as the sky got darker and how the stars, one by one, appeared on it. I listened to the humming of the trees and howling of the wind, and I was still patient and somewhat sure that Itachi would walk through the front doors of our house any minute now. That he would smile at me as he always did and then he would call for the children. I was so sure I would hear a joyous "Otou-san!" in a minute or so, followed by a tale of what Naoki had been up to today and how he was doing with his studies.

But come morning I was still surrounded by silence and he never showed up.

I didn't go to sleep at all that night, filled to the brim with worry.

Around midday Shisui appeared at the door with a scroll in his hand. One look at his guilt-stricken face was enough for me to lost balance and fall to my knees. He was right beside me the very next moment. He gave me the scroll and as I unrolled it, tears started to slide down my face. My hands were shaking so badly, I couldn't even see what was written on that scroll, but in the heart of my hearts I already knew it.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura…," Shisui said quietly as he held me. "It happened so suddenly… I just… He protected us, our team, but he didn't… I'm so sorry."

We sat there crying in the hallway for Kami knows how long as my world fell apart bit by bit all round me. In one single moment I lost a part of myself that had made me strong and had forced me to never give up, even when I so desperately wanted to do just that. Everything was crumbling. My heart was in shatters and some pieces of it were missing. I was truly broken.

They have taken him away from me – the person that I loved so much I was willing to leave my previous life behind just so I could become a glorified baby-machine slash housewife at the mercy of the family that has never showed me even an ounce of respect.

His death was my undoing.

Naoki cried for the entire night and the twins cried too, even though they were too young to fully understand what was going on. For the first time I witnessed my brave little boy talking in his sleep as he begged his father to come back.

"Daddy, don't leave me…!" echoed throughout the house, only to struck me with so much power and such force I almost couldn't breathe.

I wanted so badly for it to be enough to bring him back to life, but there was nothing that could be done.

His cold body had been washed and dressed in a fine kimono. They laid him down in a coffin in one of the rooms of the main mansion so people could say their final goodbyes and condole with his family.

I tried to not look at him, I tried to not cry and I tried to not show any weakness.

I was the head of this family now and I needed to earn their respect, even though I've never wanted it to begin with.

The funeral was a quiet affair, just like the man we were burying. Nobody cried, nobody lamented and nobody begged for it to turn out to be just a bad dream. Nobody called for him, for the perfect shinobi who shouldn't have been a shinobi in the first place and who had died the death of a hero. That's what everyone said as they hugged me and wished me all the best in the world – that he had died as a hero. And they called me the widow of a hero, but in truth I was the widow of an idiot who got himself killed before it was his time to go.

I looked as they lowered his urn into the ground, I put flowers on his fresh grave and I said the prayer without shedding even one tear and without saying too much. I did it all with a numb heart and unfeeling look in my eyes, and with a mask of cold indifference set firmly in place of my once bright smile.

Over the years I've changed so much I wasn't able to recognize myself anymore. From Haruno Sakura who had been bubbly, full of life and always smiling I transformed into Uchiha Sakura who was cold, tired and dead inside.

I was the perfect wife, the perfect mother and the perfect disaster. I loved and I cherished, and then I broke into pieces.

But that's what good wives do, you know? They stay at home and they wait, and they pray, and they are strong no matter what. And then they change, they lose themselves and sometimes they die a little bit day by day, quiet in their suffering.


	2. Coffee shop

**A/N**: Something funny and light this time around! I can write happy stuff too, even though it's usually at least laced with drama. Fluffy and rainbow-y is completely out of my comfort zone, but I still like this story.  
>Enjoy and please, leave a review when you're done :)<p>

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><p><em>Summary: "<em>_I was no shitty romance novel heroine material, but I swear to every god, in that moment I sure as hell felt like one."__  
>Genre: RomanceHumour  
>Rating: T<br>Other info: Modern AU, some swearing, alarming amount of fluff  
><em>

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><p><strong>COFFEE SHOP<br>**"Life is full of surprises."  
>-John Major<p>

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><p>The last few days had been too warm and too sunny for my taste.<p>

I was in London for barely two weeks and the weather was completely nuts the entire time. I mean, it usually rains at least twice a week, but since I came back from my family vacation, it hadn't even once. Not until now, that is, when I decided to leave my umbrella at home. As if this wasn't enough to destroy my already bad mood, I had only five pounds on me, ate close to nothing the whole day and was fifteen minutes late for work. To top it all, I was also drenched to the bone. I hated sweating like a pig and so summer was definitely the season I wasn't particularly fond of. On the other hand impersonating a sponge wasn't my favourite pastime either.

My luck was apparently out of town for the time being.

I ran across the street, paying no attention the lights, as per usual, and then I continued running and bumping into random strangers until I finally reached the small café where I worked.

The place was remotely small and only a few people seemed to know about its existence. It always reminded me of all the cafes in the old movies – with big windows and small wooden wobbly tables with cosy and comfy armchairs. To put it simply, everything about "Ground and sound" screamed home. Even the music we played gave this specific warm and welcoming vibe.

Completely out of breath, I entered the building. The door slammed behind me rather loudly, which seemed to startle some of the clients. I could actually feel their stares as I moved past them. I was almost to the back room, when I came face to face with my boss.

"Haruno, are you even able to show up on time?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow. "And why are you wet?"

I rolled my eyes with exasperation.

"It's pot calling kettle, Mr Hatake, and if my memory serves right –and it does – it's only the second time I'm late," I replied with a small smile as I made my way to the door with 'Staff Only' written on them to change into my work clothes. "And it's kind of raining cats and dogs out there."

"So I've noticed," he said, following me and stopping outside the door. "But the question still stands. Last time I checked, that gay-parade thingy you call an umbrella was practically an extension of your arm."

Snorting, I finished changing and put my phone into the pocket of my apron.

"Believe it or not," I responded as I exited the room. "I forgot to take it."

"Unbelievable," he deadpanned.

I just swatted him playfully on the arm before going behind the counter to serve a new customer.

I genuinely liked my job. It wasn't much, but I could live with eight pounds per hour for now. The shifts were quite long and the café was open 24/7, so I got a lot of shifts, but the place was never too busy and the regular customers very fairly nice. It was also much better than any job I could get back in Japan, even though it would probably be much cheaper to stay home. My mum had other opinion about the matter, through. She said – and I'm quoting here – that I should live to the fullest and enjoy life, because it's too short to constantly look over your shoulder. She was, of course, referring to my non-existent social life and the apparent lack of a boyfriend. I was only twenty-two, but she was seriously worried that at this rate I wasn't going to settle down with a nice lad who would make me shit rainbow. Thankfully, my dad couldn't care less. Of course he loved me, but he was convinced that I was perfectly capable of making my own choices in life. At least one person in my family had noticed that I'm an adult.

As I was finishing the mocha for a client, my phone buzzed and I groaned inwardly. It was probably Sasuke, my friend slash ex-almost-boyfriend who was at collage with me. I forgot to call him back once again and I was pretty sure he was pissed.

I handled the coffee to the most colourful teenager I've seen in my entire life and then sent him a quick message that I will call him during my break. I just managed to hit the 'send' button, when the doors opened and a man walked in.

I'd never seen him before. I would have remembered such an eye-candy, that's for sure. Even if he was a very wet eye-candy right now.

He smiled at me and I could literally feel my heart flutter. I was no shitty romance novel heroine material, but I swear to every god, in that moment I sure as hell felt like one.

"Good evening, sir. How can I help you?" I asked him, trying to control my voice and kind of failing miserably. It shook and I was pretty sure my face looked like a tomato. My mother was right, I really should hone some much-needed social skills before it was too late.

"Some paper towels would be nice, but a cup of tea will surface for now, thank you," he responded, shoving black damn bangs out of his eyes. His hair was longer and definitely prettier than mine, which I noted with both envy and admiration.

"Take a sit and I will see what I can do," I said with a smile. My face was so hot I was wondering if there was steam coming out of my ears. My experience with men was so scarce that when one actually paid any semblance of attention to me, I turned into a babbling mess. So charming, right? "Any particular tea you're after?"

"Green. Leaves, not bags." His smile was heart-melting and I was a pathetic excuse of a human being for ogling him like that. My eyes travelled to his mouth. I gulped. Most guys I knew had chapped, dry lips. There were, of course, some exceptions, but I've never before met a guy who looked like he actually took care of that part of his face. Then again, everything about him was so ridiculously attractive than I wouldn't be surprised if he just woke up every single morning with his lips perfectly smooth and ready to kiss.

"If that's an option," he added after a moment. To my utter mortification I realized that I had been not only staring at him like a dim-witted teenage girl with a crush, but also ignoring his order while I was at that.

Sometimes I seriously wondered why people trusted me with anything.

"S-sure thing, sir," I stuttered like Hinata when Naruto was in ten-meter radius.

"Thank you." He politely ignored my strange and very unprofessional behaviour, and with another dazing smile, he was off. I stared after him with a rather silly smile on my own until Sai came and shook me lightly.

"You okay there, Pinky?"

I jumped a little, because, as usual, I haven't heard him until he was right behind me. He was creepy like that – always sneaking up on unsuspecting people and scaring them half to death. My other co-workers and I were convinced that he had been a ninja in his previous life.

"What?" I broke out of my haze and blushed heavily, when I noticed his amused expression. "Oh. Yes, right. Tea. Towels. On my way."

The bastard just laughed at me. As much as I was tempted to smack him, I couldn't waste any more time on pointless argument with a dude that couldn't care less.

Nothing interesting happened after that. I brought the man his tea and towels, exchanged some pointless remarks about the weather and got a few more smiles before he was on his way.

What I wasn't expecting at all, was his presence at the café the next evening. And the next one. And the one after that. He was even there, when I came to work after my requested day off! When I asked, Mr Hatake just shrugged and said that the guy had a good look to his eyes. I had had no idea what he meant by that, but thankfully Ino, one of my co-workers and my best friend in the world, was a gossip girl and she couldn't resist letting me in on the story.

Apparently the guy came on my day off too and was disappointed that I wasn't there, so he somehow charmed my schedule for this month out of Mr Hatake. It was slightly creepy, but I wasn't going to complain all that much. He was positively gorgeous and as much as I wanted to deny it, I was flattered by his attention.

We continued on without mentioning it. He spent more and more time at the counter every time he came, instead of wandering off into the corner and I've even managed to learn his name.

Itachi.

A nice name for a nice guy.

All in all, it was pleasant to have someone to talk to, when my shift was particularly uneventful.

He wasn't much of a talker, but he seemed to enjoy listening to my mindless chatter and he did so rather attentively even though the verbal diarrhea falling from my mouth wasn't really that interesting. When he talked, his words were precise, to the point and laced heavily with sarcasm, which was both refreshing and intriguing.

Out of the blue I found myself looking up to see him. We talked literature, comic books, movies, TV series and my studies. He made some damn funny remarks about the pedestrians who we could easily see through the windows and my customers. And it was all nice and dandy, but almost three weeks into our sort-of friendship I still barely knew him. It was ridiculous, really, what with all the talking we did daily, but every time I thought about confronting him, I chickened and quickly changed the subject. For an adult, I was truly pitiful.

As time went by, I was also beginning to wonder what Itachi did for a living. He seemed to possess all the time in the world, since he spent the majority of his days at my work place. When I was forced to abandon our conversation in favour of serving the customers, I could see him going lazily through some papers from the corner of my eye, but I was unable to catch what were they about, because they disappeared into thin air the moment I appeared by his side when I could talk to him again.

Maybe he was some sort of business man, who was trying to escape the stuffiness of his office? Sasuke often mentioned that there were days when he would give almost anything for some outdoor assignment. I couldn't quite imagine him wearing anything besides his expensive suits and the vision of him with a shovel never failed to make me laugh, but I understood the sentiment.

Or maybe he was a lawyer? Looking over case files probably didn't require any particular type of setting.

A data analyst? For some reason I highly doubted that a man as fine as him would have such a mundane job.

There was also a distant possibility that he was a university professor, through he was probably too young for that. On the other hand he was also wicked smart from what little I had gathered when he actually decided to say something.

I sighed as I dried my hands on the paper towel. My eyes drifted to the corner, where Itachi was sitting, his attention focused entirely on his mysterious papers, and I couldn't fight back a smile.

I really liked him.

We weren't exactly friends, but after weeks of him basically stalking me at work I couldn't very well say that he was a stranger.

I signed heavily.

I didn't have a chance to talk with him, because an enormous queue of our regular lunch-breakers had forced me to stay at my post and fed the hungry. I was completely exhausted and my shift wasn't over for another three hours. My life was horrible.

"You look like you could use a break," Ino patted me on the arm with a warm smile. "Go. I can hold the front for a while."

"Thanks," I muttered with a smile on my own.

As I was removing my apron, the front doors opened and I could see my flatmate, Karin, burst in with all the grace of an elephant in a porcelain store.

She was supposed to be somewhere with her boy-toy. I vaguely remembered her telling me about some kind of elaborate lunch-date that they were going to have today, so what on earth was she doing here?

She waved at me frantically when she noticed me. I blinked at her owlishly as she made her way to me, her high-heeled boots making a rather annoying clicking sound. She was scowling so much I was kind of afraid that the expression would just stay frozen on her face forever.

"He stood me up, the utter bastard!" She proclaimed a tad bit too loudly. A few customers glanced our way with interest.

I looked at her blankly.

Last time I checked, it wasn't a big deal. I mean, they were on and off almost constantly, so I couldn't see the problem, really. Suigetsu was just the type of guy who was nice and funny until you mentioned the word 'attachment'. Then he was on the other side of the globe in a matter of seconds.

"Nobody can stand me up!" Karin was obviously having trouble in comprehending said simple matter, because she was beyond furious. "I stand people up, not the other way 'round!"

I rolled my eyes at that.

"Pig, I'm out for a smoke," I said, grabbing my purse from behind the counter. I also snatched my paper cup of half-drunk coffee and then got Karin out of the store before she could say anything else.

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked her, when we were finally outside and out of earshot. "It's my _workplace_. You can't just come and start shouting nonsense! The hell is wrong with you?!"

I lit the cigarette with a frown and gave her a look. She just sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry. It's just… I'm so angry at him!"She turned her back to me and exhaled loudly. "It won't happen again, I promise."

"You better keep that one, sunshine," I mock-warned her, but she was not listening to me. What a surprise. I sighed in exasperation.

We stood just around the corner from the cafe for a few more minutes, both of us smoking in complete silence. I tried finishing my coffee, but it was too cold and simply disgusting, so I dumped the cup into the nearest bin.

"Come. Some coffee and a piece of cheesecake will do you good," I said with a smirk as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

She smiled at me.

"You know me so well…," she muttered as we re-entered the store.

I made us coffee and cut two pieces of raspberry cheesecake. We sat in the staff room, eating in peace and I was incredibly thankful that Mr Hatake was nowhere to be found – probably hidden in some dark corner with one of his smutty novels – and the café wasn't busy at this hour.

When we were done, Karin declared that she had a day off and she could wait for the end of my shift, since she needed help with some clothes shopping anyway. I was slightly disappointed, because that meant I wouldn't have any opportunity to talk with Itachi, but I couldn't very well say anything to Karin.

She had a tendency to be nosy when it came down to other people's affairs and my life was her favourite kind of affair to get involved in.

I worked for another hour undisturbed, sending Itachi pathetically longing glances. Thank gods he was still engrossed with his work, so he didn't catch any of that.

I just finished serving some Asian tourists, when I noticed that Itachi was gathering his things. I sighed. It looked like he was leaving and, for whatever reason, it made me sad.

Maybe because I had tomorrow off.

Maybe because, against all odds, I liked the guy a lot more than wanted to admit.

I followed him with my eyes to the door, where he suddenly stopped, as if he had made his mind about something. He then turned around and walked to the counter with some new-found confidence. He stopped in front of me and for a second I thought he was going to run for it. He looked genuinely uneasy, which in turn made me incredibly nervous.

"Yes, Itachi?" I inquired with a small, encouraging smile. He stared at me for another moment before he cleared his throat.

"I was wondering, if you would like a cup of coffee."

I blinked and then snorted, unable to control my sudden amusement.

"I work in a coffee shop, Itachi." I gestured at the two coffee machines behind me. "I have plenty of coffee here, thank you."

His cheeks coloured slightly in what I suspected was a badly hidden embarrassment.

"I didn't mean…," he halted mid-sentence. "I didn't mean here. Through if you would prefer a movie or a dinner, I'm completely fine with it."

I choked, probably on air alone. He was trying to ask me out. And I just made fun of him. I was an utter moron sometimes.

"I'm so sorry!" I could practically feel my cheeks turn bright red. "Yes! Yes, of course. Coffee. Coffee! Coffee will be just fine!"

His face lightened up with a smile almost instantly, as if he was seriously afraid I would turn him down.

"Excellent!" He flashed me another smile. God, he was so ridiculously hot. "Just give me your number and I'll call you tomorrow."

I wrote my phone number on the piece of paper he gave me a little numbly, my mind still trying to fully grasp what had just happened. I was well aware that all the people in the cafe were looking at us, a slack-jawed Karin included, and I felt horribly self-conscious. Itachi, through, didn't give me time to think about it any longer. He took the piece of paper from my shaking hand and kissed my knuckles, before turning around and disappearing out of the door.

For a long few minutes, I just stood there with wide eyes, hugging the hand he kissed to my chest. The silence was broken by Karin, who apparently was able to shake herself out of the internal shock faster than me.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, rounding on me.

"The hell I know," I murmured, looking at her, dumbfounded beyond belief. I had this strange urge to giggle like a schoolgirl. I never had an urge to giggle before, which was a proof enough that I had it bad for the poor guy.

"To me, it looks like Mister Mysterious finally gathered his wits and asked his lady love out," said Ino matter-of-factly. "Good for him!"

She danced away to a far away table to collect the dishes all the while humming some kind of love song. I snorted, but my amusement didn't last long as Karin grabbed me by the front of my shirt and junked by forward so I was almost bumping noses with her.

"When were you going to tell me that you are dating Uchiha Itachi?" She whispered and I just stared at her with confusion.

"Who?"

"The guy that just asked you out," she said and then rolled her eyes at me, because I still had absolutely no idea who she was talking about. She let go of my shirt, sighing with obvious irritation. "You've watched every single freaking movie he is in like ten hundred times and you still… God, Sakura, I can't believe you sometimes!"

"I can't believe myself on occasions, so don't let it get to you," I said, bending over the counter.

We were quiet for a moment.

"You seriously don't know who he is?" She asked to clarify.

I shook my head.

"Nope."

Her head banged against the counter with a dull thud.

"He played the leading role in that chic-flick you love so much. You know, the one with the crazy dog that ate everything and then got sick?"

I openly gapped at her.

"Seriously?!"

"Yup, seriously." She winked at me. "You've gotten yourself a fine piece of man, my friend!"

I'd finished my shift in a trace, unable to focus on anything other than finding any resemblance between the rather silly character in the movie and the quirky guy with whom I had bonded over the course of the last three weeks. They did looked similar, when I thought about it, and the more I thought, the more stupid I felt for not noticing it sooner.

As we got home, I still couldn't really process that I would be going on a date in a very close future, which also made me realize that apart from a dozen of superhero T-shirts, four pairs of skinny jeans, some very unappealing skirts and shorts, a very worn-out hoodie and an old leather jacket, I didn't have anything to wear. Or at least I didn't have anything suitable for a date. I could only hope that whatever Itachi planned wouldn't require a strict dress code. Well, I needn't have to worry about that now, so I simply ignored the problem for the time being.

My day off had started and gone by as per usual.

I did my laundry, washed three days worth of dishes, browsed some websites and finally ended up watching re-runs of NCIS with a huge bowl of vanilla ice-cream for an evening meal.

The only exception was the fact that I was constantly checking my phone and just couldn't stop myself. Karin was visibly shaking with laughter every time she caught me doing it, but stopping was easier said than done.

In the end he called me shortly past 11 pm. We agreed to meet two days from now for coffee near Victoria Coach Station, because after that Itachi wanted to take me for a walk in Richmond Park.

I'd never been there before and when I had told him so, he just laughed and said that I should bring a camera with me. We then wished each other good-night and hung up. Never once had I mentioned that I knew who he was. It didn't seem right to talk about it on the phone. Besides, by the looks of it, I should have plenty of time to talk it through with him during our upcoming date.

As cliché as it was, I couldn't wait to meet him.

Then another thought entered my mind.

"Karin?" I called and the redhead appeared in the doorway of our living room a minute later.

"Hn?"

"What was his surname again?"

"Uchiha," she responded with a frown. "What about it?"

My eyes widened comically at that. I was so freaking stupid it was unbelievable. The hair, the eyes, the everything! For the love of ice-cream, if stupidity could make you fly, I would have turned into a bird a long time ago.

I lunged for my phone, ignoring Karin's concerned looks in the process of doing so, and hit "7" on the speed dial. Three signals later, a guff 'what' greeted me from the other side of the line.

"Hi, Sasuke," I responded with a sheepish smile, even though he couldn't actually see me. "Sorry for the time. I know it's late. But I have a question."

"_Hn._"

"You don't happen to have a brother, do you?"


	3. Flickering lights PART 1

**A/N**: Part one of a request for itachiuchihas on tumblr (_ItaSaku: post war prompt maybe ? :) Or whatever you would like to do!_). At first I was going to write a one-shot, but then the story just kept going and so I thought that it would be way easier to read if I divided it into parts. Since I'm taking part in the sasusaku marathon, I don't know when I will be posting part 2 (and possibly part 3, since I don't want to rush the ending).  
>Btw, if someone is waiting for the story for day 2 of the sasusaku marathon, I'll be posting it later tonight. I got a horrible migraine yesterday and I've slept through most of it, so I was sadly unable to finish it on time, but I'm dutifully working on it right now.<br>Anyway, I hope you'll like this story.  
>Enjoy!<p>

* * *

><p><em>Summary: "Somehow they made it work, even if they were all in the process of healing and still hurting inside."<br>Genre: Romance/Angst_  
><em>Rating: T<em>  
><em>Other info: post war AU, part of a series, kind of dark<strong><br>**_

* * *

><p><strong>FLICKERING LIGHTS<br>**"Good people are like candles. They burn themselves up to give others light."  
>–Turkish proverb<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Part 1<strong>

* * *

><p>Before the war, before her word had been painted in greys and before it had all basically gone to hell, Sakura took many things for granted.<p>

Her life had been simple then. There was no need to take off the pink-tinted glasses she had been wearing with such naiveté it made her cringe to this day, because inside the walls of Konoha she was supposed to feel safe. No danger should have been able to touch her there. For a long time, far longer than was probably needed, she had been shielded from every danger. Her innocence and the pureness of her soul were only a tip of the iceberg of things that should have stayed with her forever. Even in their line of work, where death started to follow you like a shadow the day you stepped outside the Academy doors as a genin, there was a possibility of living without the burden of someone's blood on your hands. After all the gruesome stories about great battles that had brought pain and loss alongside victories where just that back then – just stories which, while still horrifying, couldn't physically hurt her in any way.

The horrors she experienced for those few months after Pain's invasion were a testimony to the fact that not all of the stories ended with happily ever afters.

People were just so breakable. In a way, they reminded her of glass – no matter how much time you spent hardening and preparing it for the worst, there were still things that could make it shatter into pieces and sometimes it was simply impossible to put them back together.

They had lost so many, she couldn't even remember all the names.

Some of them had died on her table and under her glowing hands. Some never came back from the battlefields. Some had protected her. Some had sacrificed themselves for others. Some smiled when the time came and some did not. Some had been her comrades and some had been her friends, and some had been strangers, but no matter who they were, they still should have lived longer.

Sometimes, when she had too much time to think, the guilt of the survivor threatened to swallow her whole. She couldn't get the image of their motionless face out of her mind and their blood seemed to be tattooed into the skin of her hands, even though she had killed far less than others.

Sakura was a healer before a shinobi, but it didn't mean she hadn't done deeds she would rather forget about.

Her hands were meant to bring relief and strength to those who needed it, but they could also crush bones, snap spines, break necks and then they could kill without spilling a drop of blood too. When she looked at them – those small palms with long fingers and fingernails painted green – she was both amazed and terrified of the force held by those seemingly insignificant limbs.

She had never thought about such things before.

Now was a different story.

It took her a month to stop going on autopilot and then another two to start talking about something other than work and the weather. The house she and the boys had been given help a lot in making her realize that life went on.

It was the first major difference she needed to face after coming back to Konoha almost a year after it got destroyed and it was welcomed. She didn't know how she would have fared if she had been forced to live in her old home. She had lost her father during the war and even though her mother was still alive, there would be simply too much memories of the old times in those walls to bring her the peace of mind she so desperately needed.

The house was big enough to give each of them space when they needed it, but also small enough to serve as a cocoon of comfort during days when one of them couldn't face the past alone.

It was a wooden two-story building in the west part of the village that was a perfect mix between modern and traditional.

The ground floor was more traditional.

There was a genkan right at the entrance and the shoji screens served as the doors inside. The first one to the left lead to a living room, which was full of light during the day due to the ceiling-high glass doors. It was where Sakura liked to spent time the most. It lifted her spirits and she liked looking out into their small garden. Next there was a spacious kitchen, which Naruto deemed his kingdom. For someone who was so obsessed with ramen, he could actually cook very well and the things he made were, surprisingly enough, on the healthy side of the spectrum. There was also a restroom and two other rooms which they mostly used for storage. Scrolls, books and weapons of all kinds could be found there and since Sasuke was a neat freak, he had organized them in the way that made it easy to find anything within minutes.

The upper floor held four large bedrooms and a bathroom with both a shower and a bathtub.

Though living with Sasuke and Naruto was strange, especially at the beginning, she still loved it.

They had breakfast together, which usually consisted of a bowl of rice and some miso soup with an additional plate of sliced tomatoes, all courtesy of Naruto, who was the earliest riser among the group. Sometimes, when the blond was feeling particularly creative, he would make a bento for each of them. Hers always had an array of cute faces made out of baby carrots, tomatoes, cucumber and grilled fish, and the thought behind this gesture never failed to make her feel warm all over.

Then they would go spar if they had time. If not, they would arrange to meet during lunch to grab a bite. They returned home at all hours, but there was always a late dinner to look forward to at the end of each long day. It was immediately obvious who had put an effort into putting the meal together, because Sasuke's idea of food was tomatoes all around and Sakura cooked the amount that could have easily fed an army. Naruto's meals were the ones everyone favoured, since he knew what he was doing and how much of said thing he should do.

Somehow they made it work, even if they were all in the process of healing and still hurting inside.

Sasuke had it the worst. There were times when he would either start sobbing out of nowhere or go berserk on the first person who dared to address him. He couldn't stop blaming himself for his brother's death and the guilt he wore like a cloak made her heart ache. His psychological evaluation showed that he was suffering from a severe case of PTSD and there was no saying if he would ever be able to be a ninja again with the amount of trauma he had already suffered.

Naruto was sometimes so quiet, she could actually forget he was even in the room with her. He had changed so much it was hard to see the loud-mouthed kid in the hard lines of his face and the sharpness of his blue eyes. He spent most of his time playing shogi with Shikamaru in various different places round Konoha and helping Kakashi in the Hokage office with the mountains of paperwork.

Sakura was okay.

There were nights when she had nightmares, but they were few and far between, mostly because she actually couldn't sleep . Her inability to fall asleep was a problem she fought in only way she knew would work – she exhausted herself to the point of passing out. She still couldn't smile like she used to, but she knew that she would be able to do it in time.

So maybe she wasn't really okay, but she was well on her way to be.

-o-o-o-

It was Wednesday afternoon when everything changed.

They were eating lunch at Ichiraku's as they often did, even though it was the middle of December.

Naruto had a manila folder full of papers concerning an upcoming Kage Summit opened in front of him, which he needed to go through and memorize before the end of the week. He was trying to multitask, but he always ended up with either his chopsticks half-way to his mouth or jabbing at his cheek.

Sasuke was sketching something in the notebook his psychologist had given him to help with venting his feelings instead of writing in it. To Sakura's knowledge he had only managed to write a page worth of text so far and it didn't look like it was going to change any time soon.

Sakura was just sitting there and staring at her ramen as if it held the universe in-between noodles, slices of pork and pieces of some vegetables. She had taken a week off in hopes of doing some pre-Christmas cleaning in the house and maybe helping Ino with planning the annual Christmas party. Both were rather menial tasks. They didn't keep her busy enough either. The restlessness was settling into her bones already and it was only the third day.

She sighed and was about to actually start eating her lunch before it got too cold to be any good when Sasuke suddenly stood up, knocking his stool over in the process. He was shaking and his Sharingan was activated, the tomoes spinning in a manner that was highly alarming.

"Sasuke, are you-" she didn't get to finish her question, because the instant he heard her voice, he bolted from the spot, leaving his food and notebook on the counter.

Naruto looked at her with a startled expression on his face. She shook her head to let him know that she had no idea what was going on as well. His eyes travelled from the place Sasuke had been occupying only a moment before to the direction in which he disappeared. Then he collected his papers and Sasuke's things, left some money on the counter and followed after their crazed friend, with Sakura hot on his heels.

They ran across the village, chasing after Sasuke's blazing chakra. It occurred to them after about five minutes of hooping from rooftop to rooftop that he was heading for the main gate. There had been something so raw and anguished in his expression back at the ramen stand that for a split second Sakura thought he was going to run away again. It had happened before a few times, after all, through his departure had never been as dramatic and fast.

When they finally caught up to him, he was simply standing in the middle of the road which lead outside of the village, gasping for breath and looking ahead of him with a look of someone who had just seen a ghost. The guards stationed on the post near the gate looked similarly distressed.

When her eyes locked on what they were looking at, she almost choked on air.

Someone was walking in their direction, through calling it "walking" was an overstatement. The person was dragging their feet on the snow-covered ground, stopping every once in a while and then resuming the journey. The clothes he or she was wearing were not weather-appropriate in the slightest and their entire body was shaking violently, whether from cold or exhaustion she didn't know.

Since the others seemed to be frozen in some sort of stupor, Sakura took it upon herself to make a move and actually do something.

When she was close enough, she could see that the person was male and so thin she briefly wondered how he was even able to keep moving, let alone standing, because his legs looked like they were going to snap any moment now. The amount to determination he was showing couldn't be more admirable, since his feet were bare and turning blue from the frostbite. It probably didn't even hurt at this point. The exposed skin of his arms and legs was red, just as his face, which indicated that he had been travelling like this for a long while.

He stumbled and he would have fallen down if Sasuke didn't appear out of nowhere at his side and didn't manage to catch him just in time. They both landed on the ground. Her friend looked like he was going to cry any moment now. He was clutching the man to him with so much strength Sakura was afraid he was going to break some bones if he didn't lessen his hold soon.

"Sasuke...," she started to say, but was once again interrupted when an aguished scream tore through Sasuke's throat. His eyes were frantic when they landed on her and there were actual tears running down his face as he rocked himself back and forth, the man still pressed flush against him.

"Help him... Sakura, please..." His voice was shaking as he begged her and she was down on her knees beside them in a flash.

Her hands hovered over the man, the green glow creating deep shadows on his sunken cheeks. She examined him carefully and her eyes grew larger and larger the more she learnt. He was malnourished, extremely dehydrated, his lungs were in shambles and he was partially blind. His fever was so high, she could almost hear sizzling in places his skin touched the snow. He had one foot in the grave already and if she didn't do something – and soon – he would be dead before he made it to the hospital.

Sasuke was mumbling nonsense under his breath while she worked. She didn't pay him any mind, her concentration devoted solely into snatching the man out of Death's grasp.

She was putting her all into it, because her friend obviously held this person dear to his heart and she would be damned if she gave up. She swore when his heart stopped. Sasuke was sobbing, but when he realized what had just happened, he fell into full-on hysterics.

"Nii-san, please! You can't die! You can't! Please! Nii-san, nii-san...!"

Sakura was rendered speechless.

Nii-san.

Sasuke's nii-san.

Uchiha Itachi.

She was failing to save a man who was everything to Sasuke.

He was dying and her chakra was doing nothing to make his heart beat again. She pushed harder, trying to jump-start it in any way she knew, but it simply wasn't working. She was acutely aware that if she were to lose this battle, no amount of love and therapy would be able to make her friend whole again. The injuries the older Uchiha had suffered were too severe though. She needed time and equipment, and she had neither of those. Even if she did, there would have been very little she would have been able to do.

There was only one thing left. It was experimental and it was risky, but she had nothing to lose at this point.

Sakura formed the appropriate hand signs and the seal on her forehead started to glow. She could hear Naruto gasp somewhere behind her, but she paid him no mind and ignored his pleas to stop what she was doing this instant.

"Yin Seal: Release!"

There was no other way to save the older Uchiha.

No other way.

The light from the seal trailed down her face and arms, leaving lilac-coloured lines in its wake. Then it moved onto Itachi, the pattern of lines curling around his body.

"Creation Rebirth!"

-o-o-o-

Sakura's eyes were glued to the heart monitor.

His heart hadn't stopped again, but it was still too early to determine it wouldn't do so in the nearest future. Until he woke up, she needed to be prepared for everything.

The green line went steadily up and down in a healthy, albeit slightly too slow, rhythm. The rest of the machinery was humming pleasantly and serving as a background noise to her inner musings, though her thoughts weren't exactly as calm as she was.

A soft beeping that accompanied said line and the murmur of Itachi's breath had calmed her to the point where she had been balancing on the line between sleep and consciousness. She had drunk a cup of strong coffee to get rid of the sleepiness and now she felt pleasantly at ease, even though the situation wasn't one she could label as relaxing.

Naruto had been forced to knock Sasuke out and he was the one who carried him to the hospital, while Sakura struggled with Itachi. If not for her ability to enhance her natural strength with chakra, she wouldn't have been able to even pick him up. As it was, they had somehow managed to arrive to their destination relatively quickly. Once there, Sakura had started to bark orders left and right before marching to the ICU.

Itachi and Sasuke were given a room each.

The older Uchiha had been unconscious and unresponsive, but at least he was still alive and it counted more than words could describe. She left him in the capable hands of Shizune so she could accompany Naruto to the Hokage Tower.

Of course Tsunade, who had been conveniently present in Kakashi's office at the time, had yelled herself hoarse when Naruto relied to them what had happened. Sakura had expected nothing less. She was aware that what she had done was actually kind of stupid and risqué, since no one had ever tried it, but she couldn't bring herself to regret it. It went unspoken that to her Sasuke's happiness was worth more than a few mere years of her life and if she hadn't done what she did, he would have probably never recovered. The two times he bid his brother farewell were bad enough and he certainly didn't need to live through it yet again.

But all of that happened hours ago.

It was half past three in the morning now. She had checked on Sasuke an hour or so ago, though she suspected he would be still asleep. The sedative she had given him after he got admitted was probably a bit too much and a little too potent, but she really didn't need a repeat of what had happened at the gates. Besides Itachi needed peace and quiet to recover, and Sasuke's hysterical crying would only succeed in rousing him into consciousness prematurely, which was admittedly the last thing she needed. He had been sleeping soundly when she had entered his room and didn't appear to be aware of what was going on, which was probably a blessing in disguise. Her conciseness was eating away at her for pulling off such a stunt on one of her best friends, but she reasoned with herself that he had done it two times before to her and for the same purpose – to protect.

A heavy sigh escaped her as she brought her hands up to massage her temples.

She couldn't fall asleep for multiple reasons tonight, though she highly doubted she would have been able to even if she didn't drink that cup of coffee and was actually at home in her bed. It was difficult to explain, but after months of keeping her guard up at all times and only succumbing to a light slumber at most when she simply couldn't go on without that moment of rest, her body got so jumpy and unaccustomed to the actual sleep, it couldn't force itself to do it. Tsunade had prepared for her some kind of calming tea that was supposed to help her relax, but it only ever succeeded in making her drowsy. After two weeks of taking it, Sakura had laid it off, claiming that she was okay and that she didn't need it anymore. Her shishou had given her a look that begged to differ, though she kept her opinion on the matter to herself. Sakura wasn't her subordinate anymore and it wasn't as if she could make her do something she wasn't willing to do on her own.

Her head snapped up at the faint sound of rustling sheets.

Her eyes were met with Itachi's hooded ones as he blinking at her languidly.

She breathed a sigh of relief. If he was awake, it meant he was going to be okay. Since the Creation Rebirth was a technique that was design to heal the user, not someone else, she had been afraid its effects on Itachi wouldn't be on par with what she had been expecting. Truthfully, they weren't, but they were still good enough.

Hands glowing green, she moved to examine him.

"You're in the ICU of Konoha Hospital. My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm your medic and your brother's friend," she murmured softly as she worked. "Hokage-sama... I mean, hn, Kakashi, because you obviously wouldn't know... Well, anyway, he said that you are under Konoha's protection now."

A smile threatened to split her face in two when she discovered her handiwork was holding up and the only problems she was left to deal with was the malnutrition and his state of complete exhaustion. He was too thin, a little too pale and the shadows under his eyes were definitely too deep, but that was about it. He was going to be fine.

"Sas-hy-ke?" He wheezed out with difficulty. The oxygen mask was damping the sound of his voice which came out rough and dry, as if he hadn't used it in a very long time, which was probably the case.

"He's sleeping in the next room," she responded while she checked his IV and vitals before going to the foot of his bed and starting to write the information down on the chart which laid there. "Naruto needed to knock him out shortly after we found you. He was delirious with worry, for which I can't really blame him. I mean, you have been presumed dead until a few hours ago and there's even an empty grave with your name on it."

He was observing her as she moved around the room with his chart in hand, babbling like an idiot. It was the middle of the night and she had a long day with one equally as long ahead of her, so it was a given she would try to talk the nervous energy out of her system. That's how she had been dealing with stress for as long as she could remember. Itachi, for his part, didn't seem to mind.

"You should probably go back to sleep," she said with a smile. She put his chart back in its place and returned to her seat. "I'll be there when you wake up again."

To her astonishment, his lips quirked into a small almost invisible smile before his eyes closed.


	4. In a daze

**A/N**: What is sleep? I don't need sleep. All I need is writing and my lovely fandom ;D  
>Digressions aside, I hope I'm not too late. I think I will try to do at least two more prompts for ItaSaku Fest 2014 (a glorious tumblr event that is taking place this week). They're all very inspiring, but sadly I have too many things started to do more… :  
>Anyway I'm actually planning to write a sort of sequel to this story (maybe for day 2, idk), so if you'll like it, stay tuned for more!<br>Enjoy! ;)

* * *

><p><strong>ITASAKU FESTIVAL 2014<br>Day 1 – Meeting**

* * *

><p><em>Summary: "<em>Obviously she wasn't the only one affected by the early hour._"  
>Genre: RomanceHumor_  
><em>Rating: K+<em>  
><em>Other info: non-massacre AU<strong><br>**_

* * *

><p><strong>IN A DAZE<strong>

* * *

><p>It started with a bang.<p>

A literal bang, because Sakura apparently could simply meet people like a regular person. In this twisted world where Kami-sama hated her guts and had no problem whatsoever with expressing it, she needed to embarrass herself profusely before she even got a chance to introduce herself.

She had just stopped by her office in the hospital at the end of her thirty-hour shift to take some long-overdue paperwork back home and was heading out of the building, when she ran head first into someone with enough force to send them both onto the ground. She landed on her arse with an undignified yelp of surprise, sending the stacks of papers she had been carrying into the air. Too tired to actually attempt to stand up and way too mortified to look at the victim of her complete lack of attention, she observed in morbid fascination as the pages of various medical files swayed gently in the cold morning air. To be honest, they did so for an astounding amount of time. Either that or her sleep-deprived mind was playing stupid tricks on her, which was also fairly possible. When the last piece of paper landed on the ground, she finally dared to glance in the direction of her companion.

Her eyes widened comically when they met the deep obsidian gaze of her teammate's aniki, Uchiha Itachi himself.

The man didn't seem bothered by what was probably the strangest situation of his life. In fact he looked completely at ease, sitting in front of her and observing her with something akin to curiosity. Sasuke often commented that his brother, while certainly a genius, was also a very peculiar person, but Sakura had never quite believed him. However now she was starting to, because the way Itachi was looking at her, intense smoulder and all, was actually more than a little bit creepy.

They continued to sit there like two complete morons for another few minutes, even though it was the middle of a very frosty December and doing so wasn't probably the wisest choice. Thankfully it was only four in the morning, so no one was there to witness it. Not that it made it any less awkward.

"I'm afraid I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings." Itachi was the first one to break the silence. He didn't move from his spot though, apparently content to stay where he was for the time being. "I apologize."

"Um, it's okay," she responded with a small nervous smile. "I'm sorry as well."

She moved onto her knees shortly afterwards and started collecting the papers, which were littering the ground around them like autumn leaves. Surprisingly enough, Itachi decided to help her and, after a moment of crawling around like toddlers, they managed to pick up all of them.

Then Itachi helped her up, offering his hand even before she had started to raise, which clearly indicated that at least one of the Uchiha brothers was a gentleman.

Back on her feet and with a handful of messy wrinkled papers that she now would also need to sort back into some semblance of order, Sakura looked up at Itachi, who was standing in front of her as if he was waiting for something. He was staring at her again, which mde her feel very self-conscious. She wasn't by any means the type of girl who was constantly worried about her looks, but who could really blame her for being a bit concerned with her appearance when such a handsome man had his gaze practically glued to her person.

She cleared her throat in an attempt to get his attention, but it didn't help much. He glanced briefly into her eyes before continuing what she could only refer to as a thoughtful assessment.

Obviously she wasn't the only one affected by the early hour.

"Uchiha-san," she said quietly to get his attention when he didn't stop staring after what must have been a few solid five minutes.

"Yes?" He asked, blinking at her slowly as if he wasn't even aware that what he had been doing could be considered impolite or simply not caring in the slightest.

"What are you doing here?"

It wasn't a question she really needed an answer to right now. She should have been on her way home or, even better, already in bed, but her curiosity was as per usual getting the better of her.

His only answer was a lifted eyebrow which clearly indicated what he thought of her rather stupid inquiry. Considering where they were, it was pretty obvious why he was here.

Sakura, not for the first time this morning, felt the need to smack herself on the forehead.

"Yes. Right. That was stupid," she said rather sheepishly, shifting a bit to accommodate the weight of the papers which were surprisingly heavy. "I'll just go now. Sorry once again."

She moved to the left with every intention of side-stepping him and hightailing as fast as her legs could carry her, but Itachi had other plans. He caught her elbow just as she was about to pass him, successfully stopping her in her tracks.

Surprised yet again by his behaviour, she looked at him with a questioning look on her face.

"I will accompany you," he stated. He then took the papers from her before she could properly process what he had said and started to move at a leisurely pace in what Sakura realized was actually the proper direction to her apartment building. A bit dazed, she followed him without a word.

Konoha was quiet and seemingly devoid of life at this time. It was still too early for anyone but some shinobi to be up and about, though they usually preferred rooftops over streets, so the two of them were completely alone. Since they were both exhausted, Sakura didn't even attempt to strike up a conversation. Then again, what could they really talk about? They have never met before, although they have probably seen each other in passing a few times and they knew some things about each other, like names and such. Being on a team with Sasuke, who idolized his older brother to the point where it bordered on obsession, made Sakura acutely aware of who exactly was walking beside her and it actually made her rather apprehensive when it came down to doing anything other than following Itachi's orders.

When they arrived at her apartment and it was time to bid each other goodbye, Sakura finally took notice of something that she should have seen earlier. Itachi wasn't dressed for the weather outside at all and was suffering because of it. She was actually surprised he wasn't shaking like a leaf where he stood, because the light ANBU gear he was wearing certainly didn't provide him with enough protection from the biting winter air. The visible skin of his upper arms was slowly changing colour from red to purple. His lips had an unhealthy bluish hue to them, which worried her just as much as his cheeks, nose and the tips of his ears which were scarlet.

"Oh for Kami's sake, Uchiha-san! What were you thinking? Do you want to die of hypothermia or something?" She scolded him with a frown as she ushered him inside her apartment, completely unperturbed by the fact that he was basically a stranger and rather unwilling to cooperate. Then again Sakura had years-worth of experience with difficult patients under her belt, so she was able to deal with him just fine.

She took the papers from him and disposed of them on the small table near the genkan after they removed their shoes. Her bone-deep exhaustion almost completely forgotten, she herded him into the living room where she sat him down on a couch, wrapped him in three blankets and ordered him to stay where he was while she went to the kitchen to prepare them some tea.

When she walked back into the room ten minutes later, Itachi was laying on his side fast asleep. Unwilling to disturb what was probably a well-deserved moment of rest, she left one of the cups on the table near the couch and decided to simply let him sleep.

Ten hours later, when Sakura finally woke up, Itachi was already gone. The blankets had been folded neatly and laid on the couch near one of the armrests, and the cup of tea she had left for him was now empty. In the middle of the table laid a single piece of paper which simply read "Thank you".

Sakura smiled.

It started with a bang and it kind of ended with one as well.


	5. Puppy love

**A/N: **Yes, I've actually managed to write it. Yay! As promised, it's a sequel to the previous story and since I've ended it the way I did, I will be writing another one to this story as well. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it! :)

* * *

><p><strong><strong>ITASAKU FESTIVAL 2014<strong>  
>Day 2 – Pining<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Summary: Sequel to "In a daze", Itachi's POV<em>_  
>Genre: RomanceHumor_  
><em>Rating: K+<em>  
><em>Other info: non-massacre AU<strong><br>**_

* * *

><p><strong>PUPPY LOVE<strong>

* * *

><p>He couldn't stop thinking about her.<p>

Two weeks after their strange first meeting, Uchiha Itachi was still mulling over every detail of it with what could only be described as slight obsession and he simply couldn't get rid of the image of her smile from the back of his mind, no matter how hard he tried. It was becoming quite annoying, to be honest, because whenever he saw something pink, his thoughts went straight to her. Everything would have been fine with that, since he didn't encounter many pink things during his normal day, but of course as life would have it he actually started to notice said things whereas before they had simply slipped his attention whatsoever.

He wasn't horribly alarmed by this turn of events at the beginning. He was a curious man by nature and he simply liked to know things that some people would label as completely useless or even as a waste of time. Then again, he had never felt so intrigued by a person in his entire life. In fact he thought about her so much, it was staring to intervene with his training. On more than one occasion Shisui had been able to win their daily sparing session simply because Itachi's mind seemed to be elsewhere at the time. Distractions could be fatal in their line of work and so Itachi decided to deal with his problem quickly to avoid getting himself killed.

Of course he had limited experience when it came to women. He was also unwilling to consult anyone on the matter out of a mixture of embarrassment and self-reassurance that it surely wasn't that hard.

It proved to be more than a bit challenging. He didn't even know how to approach her, which was truly pathetic. In the end he just started following her like a shadow whenever he was in the village, but even though he was an excellent shinobi, he couldn't actually stay perfectly hidden at all times, especially not when he was distracted by the subject of his investigation.

This was precisely why his younger brother had spotted him in the first place.

Itachi's private mission of learning everything he could about Sakura – and thus finally coming to a understanding about the reason behind his unexpected interest in her – had been going of weeks at that point. On that particular day Itachi was sort of accompanying Sakura on her weekly trip to the market when his brother appeared next to him on a rooftop he had chosen as his observation spot.

"What are you doing, aniki?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer to his question, judging by the look on his face.

"Hn."

He didn't feel like stating the obvious. After a moment of staring at each other, Sasuke nodded stiffly, more to himself than to his brother, and shunshined away, leaving Itachi were he was. He shrugged it off easily and went back to his previous activity, completely unperturbed by Sasuke's strange behaviour.

The next day though Sasuke approached him shortly after breakfast and, after all but dragging him away from the prying ears of their mother, he asked him the same pointless question once again.

This time Itachi had a feeling he wouldn't be able to get away with a hn, so he decided to skip mind games and get right to the point.

"I find her intriguing," he replied and then observed in quiet amusement as Sasuke proceeded to choke on his own spit.

"What," he managed to say after a moment, looking at Itachi as if he was truly seeing him for the first time.

"She intrigues me," he repeated patiently as if he was explaining something very simple to a particularly obtuse child. "We have met a few weeks ago and it made me realize she is more than I've believed her to be."

Sasuke took his time in processing this information. Then, completely out of nowhere, he started laughing like it was going out of style. Tears appeared in the corners of his eyes and slid down his rapidly flushing face as he staggered back a few steps. He leaned on the wall to support his body which was shaking with his every breath and continued to laugh, apparently finding something completely hilarious in this rather awkward situation.

Itachi observed him with both eyebrows raised, waiting patiently for some sort of an answer.

Finally, after solid fifteen minutes of doing a marvellous impression of a hyena, Sasuke took a long breath and was able to talk like a normal human being.

"You two are hopeless!" He chuckled and then shook his head. "Stop being creepy and just ask her out, okay?"

"I don't _like_ her," Itachi said with a frown.

"No, you're right. My bad." Sasuke smirked at him. "You're just pining for her like a lovesick puppy."

With those words he turned around and left a dumbfounded Itachi in the living room, where he continued to stand completely speechless for another few minutes.


End file.
